Leonid Meteor Shower 2012 Live Stream: Where to Watch Online, Peak Times (Video)

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The Leonid meteor shower 2012 is taking place Friday night, November 16, with the peak taking place late Friday to early morning Saturday. The meteor shower is expected to fill the night sky with bright, colorful meteors which should make for an amazing spectacle. The 2012 Leonid meteor shower can be watched online through live stream on Friday night (details below).

(Photo: Reuters)The Leonid Meteor Shower 2012

The live stream will be provided by Space.com, which has been monitoring the meteors avidly. The site has posted some wonderful video footage of the meteor light show already as the shower builds up to a climax later in the night.

The Marshall Center is also providing a live stream of the meteor shower, which will be streaming live from their technologically advanced telescope in Huntsville, Alabama.

NASA has told skygazers that this 2012 Leonid meteor shower could be the most visually impressive experience in years, and the show will be amplified by the new moon on the sky tonight.

The meteor shower is scheduled to be viewable first in North America, before intensifying later over the Asia region.

Bill Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has said in a press statement: "We're predicting 20-30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200-300 per hour over Asia. Our forecast is in good accord with independent theoretical work by other astronomers."

Of course in addition to the online live streams the Leonid meteor shower can also be watched outside by the naked eye. For those wishing to experience the visual spectacle outdoors are advised to try and find a place away from bright lights - the more rural the better.

If viewers lay on their backs gazing upwards towards the sky, looking into space at the south-southeast part of the sky, then a good view of the meteors should be available - cloud cover could of course be a major problem in some areas.

The Leonid meteor shower should begin to intensify at about 11 p.m. ET and reach its peak at about 3 a.m. ET. But the meteors should be visible both before and after these times.

To watch the Leonid meteor shower 2012 online through live stream watch on Space.com by clicking here.

Aternatively the meteors can be watched via the Marshall Center by clicking here.